Women and men are not equal when it comes to PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). 
In general, research indicates that women not only are more likely to experience PTSD symptoms than men, but also may respond differently to PTSD.
From her clinical experience as the medical director of the Timberline Knolls treatment center, Dr. Kimberly Dennis identifies four PTSD gender differences
- Men are prone to feeling angry and have anger management issues
- Women are prone to more nervousness, tend to feel less emotion and avoid trauma reminders
- Recovery time from PTDS is longer for women than men
- Problems related to PTSD are likely to last four times longer for women than men
Besides these gender differences, female soldiers face even greater challenges in dealing with their PTSD as veterans. Upon returning from service, female veterans encounter a lack of understanding, ignorance and stereotyping according to New York Times writer Damien Cave.
Cave goes on to chronicle that not only do these women lack support services but they have to deal with “ … the fact that many people don’t see them as ‘real’ veterans …”
The repercussions are such that many female veterans dealing with their PTSD brain trauma
- isolate themselves from others and retreat into “hiding”
- develop relational and intimacy issues
- feel guilty about lacking coping mechanisms, especially anger and aggression which are not perceived as acceptable even though male veterans are given greater leeway
- suffer the indignity of not being given not given combat recognition for their support to male units
- constantly have to explain their role and constantly prove their PTSD
And, most damming of all they have come home to “… a society that expects them to be feminine nurturers, not the nurtured.”
You Can Find Me At -
I had no idea. Thanks for this post. As a holistic healthcare practitioner I help people eliminate PTSD in minutes–as was done for me following an attack and life-altering brain injury. I feel it’s criminal that mainstream medicine ignores all the alternatives out there leaving people to suffer such trauma.
PTSD cannot be described or imagined by anyone who has ot gone through it.
Women take on so much more than many people realize. I find others see us as rocks able to withstand pressure OR as people who just do not matter so much.
Thank you for this post and for your informative site.
Thank you for posting this Joyce. I’ve worked with both men and women suffering from PTSD symptoms, some of whom weren’t in active service. I recognise many of the points you make but am most surprised at the recovery times. Perhaps this is, in part, due to the methodology being offered to them.
I hope that giving the facts their due recognition, the female soldiers get the help they need.